Hades tapped his fingers against the white marble table in front of him irritably. He absolutely detested these meetings that his brother punished him through. He basically had to sit, stay, and listen as to why his younger brother was the greatest if all of the gods and why he's the rightful king and blah blah blah.

Now, this was actually a pretty common thing with Zeus-the guys conceited beyond belief- but as a new form of torture, the god had decided to move the seating from which they had originally been in and now Hades had to endure the wrath of Aphrodite's never ending criticism.

"So" She would always start "How do you find these other goddesses' hm? Do any of them…capture your attention?"

I hated this conversation immensely. I was the oldest of my brothers but the last to wed, and according to Aphrodite, I certainly have the looks to be a decent husband but my overall outlook of life seemed to be a bit dark for a wife to take care of.

I wonder why that was.

Always this was where the conversation turned; why I, the eldest of the three, was forced into the deep dark trenches of the earth to rule over the undead instead of at the top of mount Olympus looking down on the lively people of Greece.

My only answer is, well, life sucks.

"No for the fourth time," I ran a hand through my dark hair covering my coal black eyes in frustration "None of you god forsaken women are worth even the-"

But then I stopped.

For a new face had come to sit at the round marble table. She had dark red curls and almond shaped green eyes. Her face was clear and had a very elegant soft white shade to it that made her look as if she was made of a new found glass. She had a quiet figure that would bore both of Hades brothers instantly, but she seemed to captivate the dark king's attention. She smiled softly when she was addressed and introduced by Demeter, but she seemed to be slightly bored with it all. I ached to be closer to the girl and hear if her voice was as smooth as her skin or as whimsical as her flowing hair.

Aphrodite, moving to see why my sentence never came to an end, met eyes with my beautiful princess and flashed a smirk.

"My, My," she grinned "It seems Talk dark and handsome really does have a heart"

I scoffed looking back down at the marble in front of me "You're out of your right mind. Maybe all of that love you bless onto everyone else has left you feeling mighty lonely right about now" I smirked knowing I hit a chord since she stood abruptly.

I was more than ready to have the woman leave my presence but just before she flipped her bright blonde hair and leaned down close to my ear.

"Just remember," She started "There are fates worse than death, and love, Hades, would be one of them"

I watched the quiet girl, usually from a distance, and found that the lovely princess was in fact Demeter's daughter. She had a love for the earth around her, but unlike her mother she would focus her attention on the beauty of it. She would grow flowers that had petals that would glisten in the day and close for sleep in the night.

I wasn't the most knowledgeable about plant life since the only lively things in my home was the ghost flower and the pomegranate tree. Whenever the girl's mother was unaware, I would grow these white ghost flowers around her daughter's feet. The first time I made this attempt, she plucked one of the flowers and weaved it into the middle of her reef. I felt my heart soften at the sight of this and I knew immediately I wanted this sweet flower for my bride.

As if on cue, the love goddess herself appeared in front of mem ready to lend me her assistance. She didn't even pretend to smile however, when I told her I was capable of finding love on my own and without her own help.

"Excuse me?!" she snapped, "Well good luck then! Just remember this when the people of Greece speak badly of you and your Wife!" She then preceded in disappearing into a puff of smoke and disappeared

The hardest part, I realized soon after, would being able to grab the attention of the beautiful girl without scaring her, or attracting the attention of her mother. I planned out my arrival to the detail, makings sure everything was in place before I moved to speak with her.

I stood in my black and jewel crusted chariot with two houses placed in front. I decided to ride up to her while her mother was out tending to the humans and while Persephone was out tending to her garden. With a silent wish of good luck for myself I descended down the hill side riding to her place in the meadow.

When I found her sitting there in the grass I reached out a hand for her and I watched optimistically as her own moved towards mine.

"Persephone... I-"

Just as I was beginning my thought out serenade I saw out of the corner of my eye an angry and upset woman bounding up the hill. On impulse I grabbed at the hand in front of me pulling the girl onto my chariot and moving the horses so that we may quickly leave and speak without her mother's ears.

Unfortunately that meant I had brought the beautiful girl into my home in the underworld.

When I slowed my horses and was able to look down at the girl I saw a ghost white look of fear overcome her fragile face. She looked back and forth between the world around her and she shook silently reaching for her knees to hold to her chest. I sat on the edge of the cart reaching my hand out to comfort her but before I could it was smacked away.

"H-how…how could you?!" she yelled as small silver tears rolled down her cheeks. "I didn't believe them...! They told me you were no good…b-but I didn't believe them…! B-but…How could you take me away from her…?! She's my mother!" Her tears were falling rapidly and I felt a grief I've never had to swallow before. She continued to hold herself and cry into her knees, her glowing red hair seeming to lose its shine.

What have I done?

TO BE CONTINUED…